- Georgette Heyer
I really enjoyed about 90% of this book, it was clever, funny and the murder happened in the first chapter. All good signs of a murder mystery novel in my opinion!
The book begins with the body of Arnold Vereker being discovered in historical stocks set in the middle of a village green. The suspects seem obvious as Arnold's half brother and sister both come out of the situation extremely financially well off. Also not helping their case, Kenneth and Antonia Vereker seem completely unperturbed by their half brother's murder. They are openly happy that Arnold is dead and they thoroughly enjoy taunting the police as they revel in eccentricity. I found many similarities between Kenneth and Antonia and Jean Ralphio and Mona Lisa Saperstein. Since I love Jean Ralphio and Mona Lisa I loved the Vereker siblings. Their honesty was refreshing and their loyalty to each other was endearing. The other cast of characters include the Vereker's laid back lawyer, Kenneth's gold digger fiance and the Vereker's grumpy housekeeper/maid/guard dog.
The mystery itself was not all that difficult to wok out as there was some not so subtle hinting in my opinion but the characters in the book were fantastic which made the novel enjoyable overall. My only frustration was I felt that in the last couple of chapters some of the characters had their personalities watered down.
My rating - 4 stars.
My rating - 4 stars.
"People who start a sentence with personally (and they're always women) ought to be thrown to the lions. It's a repulsive habit."
